Need advice on a small tank

[FinsUp]

Hi all,
I saw a pair of seahorses today that eat regular food like little piggies. That was the only thing holding me back from trying to keep seahorses. So now I'm considering getting a nano type tank for them. I haven't decided if I want to make it a reef. Knowing me, I won't be able to help myself.

I want something medium sized (not a 6 gallon, but not 30 gallons)
preferably glass, as I'm not a fan of acrylic
a smart filtration setup
decent lighting

So here's my question: What tank should I get?

 

[bigfoot610]

nano cube

 

[Catfish Charlie]

14 gal. BioCube works great for Seahorses or 15 gal. column tank.

 

[ShelbyJK500]

I LOVE my 16g Nuvo by Innovative marine. Great display design for under 30g....AND it's glass!

 

[cdrewferd]

I think it depends. Are you going to do full size sea horses, or dwarfs? You could do the 16g Nuvo and about a dozen dwarfs, maybe even a few more.

 

[FinsUp]

I think it depends. Are you going to do full size sea horses, or dwarfs? You could do the 16g Nuvo and about a dozen dwarfs, maybe even a few more.

Just this pair of full size ones. Dwarfs are cute enough if your eyes have built in microscopes, but I can't see them.

And yeah, I'm kinda liking the 10-15 gal range. What are the main differences between the different brands? Does one have a better filtration system than the others? I guess that's my main concern with the smaller tanks- filtration and keeping the water stable. It's a piece of cake on my 125 because of the water volume. But with these tiny ones... scary. So I want to make sure I get the best built one for filtration.

 

[FinsUp]

I LOVE my 16g Nuvo by Innovative marine. Great display design for under 30g....AND it's glass!

Thanks! I'll take a closer look at those. What is it you like best about it? Is it easy to maintain & keep the water parameters stable?

 

[FinsUp]

14 gal. BioCube works great for Seahorses or 15 gal. column tank.

Thanks! I'll look into both of those. Who makes the 15 gal column tank? I'm not sure if I've heard of one of those.

 

[kmellon]

Fluval Edge 12 gal. It's tall and would probably give you a nice slow flow with the included filter. it also comes with led lighting and an almost sealed top. However, it is something that you want to set up once and not fiddle with. The beauty of the tank is that the water is all the way up to to the top so if you have to get inside to do something you generally have to take some water out or you will over flow it. Here's a link on amazon. All you need is to add a small heater.

http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-12-Gallon-Aquarium-42-LED-Light/dp/B005X88XIK

by the way, my picture is of the 6 gal that i had set up. it was the original one with halogen lights that I replaced with two mr 16 LEDs and some automotive blue led strips.

Lastly. filtration was fine in the 6 gal but no real good way of adding an ato. I kept a gallon jug of water by the tank and would add anythign needed each time i fed everyone. I didn't ahve much evaporation but it was also in a basement with cooler temps.

 

[Catfish Charlie]

Thanks! I'll look into both of those. Who makes the 15 gal column tank? I'm not sure if I've heard of one of those.

CindyL the 15 gal column is made by Aqueon. Not a good tank for inverts, but great for a pair of Seahorses, it's 12X12X24 tall. The 14 gal. BioCube is excellent for Seahorses too with built in filtration T-5 compacts and LED lighting, both are made of glass.

 

[FinsUp]

Fluval Edge 12 gal. It's tall and would probably give you a nice slow flow with the included filter. it also comes with led lighting and an almost sealed top. However, it is something that you want to set up once and not fiddle with. The beauty of the tank is that the water is all the way up to to the top so if you have to get inside to do something you generally have to take some water out or you will over flow it. Here's a link on amazon. All you need is to add a small heater.

http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-12-Gallon-Aquarium-42-LED-Light/dp/B005X88XIK

by the way, my picture is of the 6 gal that i had set up. it was the original one with halogen lights that I replaced with two mr 16 LEDs and some automotive blue led strips.

Lastly. filtration was fine in the 6 gal but no real good way of adding an ato. I kept a gallon jug of water by the tank and would add anythign needed each time i fed everyone. I didn't ahve much evaporation but it was also in a basement with cooler temps.

DANG! That's a nice lookin' tank! You really fill it all the way to the top? It looks like it has a lid, so that's good. I don't want my cats getting into it.

 

[Catfish Charlie]

CindyL the 15 gal column is made by Aqueon. Not a good tank for inverts, but great for a pair of Seahorses, it's 12X12X24 tall. The 14 gal. BioCube is excellent for Seahorses too with built in filtration T-5 compacts and LED lighting, both are made of glass.

Oh I forgot too. Marineland makes a 10 gal, 20 gal and 30 gal half moon glass tank that is also popular for seahorses and the have LED Lighting. Again these tanks are not good for corals, but great for Seahorses, feather dusters, sponges and so.

 

[FinsUp]

CindyL the 15 gal column is made by Aqueon. Not a good tank for inverts, but great for a pair of Seahorses, it's 12X12X24 tall. The 14 gal. BioCube is excellent for Seahorses too with built in filtration T-5 compacts and LED lighting, both are made of glass.

I was thinking about also getting a harlequin shrimp, so maybe I shouldn't get the column. Seems like a great size, tho. Especially for seahorses.

 

[FinsUp]

Oh I forgot too. Marineland makes a 10 gal, 20 gal and 30 gal half moon glass tank that is also popular for seahorses and the have LED Lighting. Again these tanks are not good for corals, but great for Seahorses, feather dusters, sponges and so.

I like how the curved glass makes everything look bigger, but I know myself well enough to know that I'll want to put corals in it. Even if I say no at first, I still like corals too much for my own good.

 

[kmellon]

Yes, the top is sealed but for an opening with a lip that is hidden under that lid which also hides the light bar and the filter top. I had the same concern with my cat but she ended up not paying to much attention to it. Probably figured that she couldn't get into it while I was out of the room anyway. I would also say that it helped keep hair out of it as well. I don't have a cover on my 16 g nuvo and i have noticed a few kitty hairs floating on the top from time to time. Just keep in mind that you might need to augment the lights if you really want to keep coarls that need the higher bandwidth. I think the leds provide around 7500 for normal freshwater plant growth. Not sure how well that will work out for corals.

You can also find youtube videos of people that had set up the 6 gal model for salt and see some of the cazy things they did for lighting.

DANG! That's a nice lookin' tank! You really fill it all the way to the top? It looks like it has a lid, so that's good. I don't want my cats getting into it.

 

[FinsUp]

Yes, the top is sealed but for an opening with a lip that is hidden under that lid which also hides the light bar and the filter top. I had the same concern with my cat but she ended up not paying to much attention to it. Probably figured that she couldn't get into it while I was out of the room anyway. I would also say that it helped keep hair out of it as well. I don't have a cover on my 16 g nuvo and i have noticed a few kitty hairs floating on the top from time to time. Just keep in mind that you might need to augment the lights if you really want to keep coarls that need the higher bandwidth. I think the leds provide around 7500 for normal freshwater plant growth. Not sure how well that will work out for corals.

You can also find youtube videos of people that had set up the 6 gal model for salt and see some of the cazy things they did for lighting.

Thanks SO much for the info. 7500 wouldn't look so hot, so I would definitely upgrade the lighting.

 

[rlklassy]

so just what iv heard from research a while back... You can do a ten gallon with live rock, some kenyas and sea fans... and have a little protein skimmer and mechanical filter... I actually have a 55 running with two 65 gallon mechanical filters and it does awesome... but sometimes something works for one person and not the other... so..
but i did see, if your going to have less then ten ( est number from a video i watched), that around ten to fifteen gallons is perfect because its easier for them to get food...

 

[kmellon]

Ok, now you have me looking at these again. I just found this at petco on line. $148 no shipping. I must say that i really loved my 6 gal and still have it although the leds that i put in the tank were crusted over with salt duing my emergency trips to Ohio over the summer. This thread is makeing me want to buy a 12 g and do it again.

I had it placed the 6 gal on a stand right next to where i sat each night to relax. I could always look over and watch the fish in the tank and notice things that are missed in larger systems.

http://www.petco.com/product/117228...5&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=51515448115

 

[kmellon]

Oh, and I had no problem growing gsp, xenia, and several frags of corals that people had given me when i was starting out. I had a maroon clown, yellow clown goby, scooter blenny, watchman and pistol pair as well as a condy (ok that last one was a noob mistake).

The only thing that didn't do well was some hard corals and that might have been my lack of additives and monitoring my Kalk, Alk, and Mag.

 

[FinsUp]

Ok, now you have me looking at these again. I just found this at petco on line. $148 no shipping. I must say that i really loved my 6 gal and still have it although the leds that i put in the tank were crusted over with salt duing my emergency trips to Ohio over the summer. This thread is makeing me want to buy a 12 g and do it again.

I had it placed the 6 gal on a stand right next to where i sat each night to relax. I could always look over and watch the fish in the tank and notice things that are missed in larger systems.

http://www.petco.com/product/117228...5&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=51515448115

HAHA!! Sorry... I didn't mean to get anyone else going on this idea. LOL. Just glad that I'm not the only one so addicted.